Reading archive 2022-04-29

Who’s afraid of elemental elemental power? Fear of nuclear energy has made it harder to stand up to dictators and slow down global warming. Is it time for a rebrand? - "'Where I’m at now is, if it’s true that the climate crisis is as big of a problem and as serious and urgent of a threat as folks say it is, then we need to be really ruthless and rigorous in thinking about how we can reduce emissions in the most effective and quick way possible,' she said."

Ukrainian attacks bring war home to Russia, fraying civilian nerves

Cracks emerge in Russian elite as tycoons start to bemoan invasion: Oligarchs and financial officials are alarmed over the economic toll it’s taking and feel powerless to influence Putin

Inside the Republican drift away from supporting the NATO alliance: The isolationist posture of some Republicans is in line with the ‘America First’ ethos of Trump, the GOP’s de facto leader who has long railed against NATO - "'We now are really seeing the true impact of deep, deep political polarization, where it is better to harm the other side than do what’s right for the country,' said Heather Conley, president of the German Marshall Fund. “This deep domestic polarization has now crept into foreign and security policy. There has always been strong bipartisan support for NATO, but everything now has become polarized and can be weaponized against the other side, even if it supports U.S. national security interests.'"

Disney’s special tax district pushes back against law that would dissolve it: Reedy Creek is pushing back after a clash with DeSantis over LGBTQ rights - "One possibility is that Reedy Creek will transfer its governing powers — and financial obligations — to the two cities within its 40-square-mile jurisdiction, which are functionally run by Disney. When the special district was created after Walt Disney set his sights on building an entertainment empire in Florida, the company also included two incorporated cities. Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista have fewer than 60 residents between them — and they all work for Disney or retired from the company — but their city boundaries cover most of the theme park’s 25,000 acres and almost all of its attractions, with the exception of the Wide World of Sports."

A reactor in Idaho could change the future of nuclear energy — if it survives Trump’s budget - "That’s because federal research has often catalyzed new energy technology — think fracking. Private companies margins are too thin to conduct massive research programs. Venture capital is scarce because the return on investment is lengthy. Meanwhile, rival firms outside the United States are often state-subsidized or -owned." [ed. note: from 2017]

A Greek family saved them from Nazis. Now, they found how to thank them.: ‘Without them, my family wouldn’t have survived the war,’ said Josephine Velelli Becker, who lives in Maryland

Opinion: Republicans have only themselves to blame for Madison Cawthorn